Andy Fillmore will be Halifax’s next mayor, defeating Mason and Lovelace

There were hurrahs and high fives all around the Lion’s Head Tavern last night, as former Liberal MP Andy Fillmore celebrated his win as mayor of Halifax.

The upstairs room was packed with his supporters as the mayor-elect promised to move quickly on housing issues.

“We live in the best municipality in the country and I know it is going to get even better when we all work together,” he said, calling Halifax a “community of communities.”

Later, speaking to reporters, he quickly turned to housing. He said he wants to work with Premier Tim Houston to “help people to move into positive supportive housing arrangements that aren’t tents.

He also said he wanted more houses built, “in tremendous volume” and at lower cost.

With 383 of 427 tables reporting he had more than 51,000 votes, far ahead of the roughly 30,000 for District 7 councillor Waye Mason and 20,000 for District 13 councillor Pam Lovelace. There were 13 other candidates running.

“What’s next? That’s not my problem,” Mason laughed as he headed out from his event at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel in downtown Halifax.

Mason served 12 years at City Hall, and also talked about housing.

“The housing crisis is real. There’s a lot of non-profits. I’ve been working really closely with supporters as a councillor,” he said.

“I don’t know what kind of job I’m gonna land on, but we’ll see. There’s still going to be opportunities for being involved in the community.”

His supporters were disappointed, but spoke well of Mason.

“I know he’s going to do something that’s going to make Halifax better, but I don’t know what that is. “I know that being a councillor is a job that he loved, but that it’s also really hard on a person,” said Craig Feurgson, a friend of Mason. “So I’m looking forward to him having a little more space for other things in his life, and I’m excited to see what’s next.”

Megan Baker, another friend of Mason, created a felt puppet of Fillmore in jest. Mason and his close friends and family laughed and joked as they flowed into the lobby. 

Lovelace proposed to build a light rail system in Halifax. Her election night party was downstairs from FIllmore’s, on the main level of the Lion’s Head.

By V. Patterson, Sally Skinner, Henri Freedman